Make RU486 Available on the Pharmaceuticals Benefits Scheme (PBS) #RU4WomensHealth

RU486 is an essential women's health drug but it can cost them a lot of money to obtain, a high price to pay for a very difficult choice. It is on the World Health Organisation (WHO) list of essential medicines, has been endorsed by the Royal College of Physicians and is accepted as a safe and critical drug for women's health all over the world. Australia has only just registered this drug with the Therapeutic Goods Administrations, and yet it has been available in France since 1988. Their health minister at the time understood it's importance, stating that:

"I could not permit the abortion debate to deprive women of a product that represents medical progress. From the moment Government approval for the drug was granted, RU-486 became the moral property of women, not just the property of a drug company."

Registration with the TGA is a big step for Australia, but real women's access to non-invasive medical abortions will only be achieved through government subsidisation of the drug. Without a government subsidy, the drug can be unaffordable for most women and make their choice one based on income, rather than on rational planning. Family planning should not be determined by a woman's income. This petition asks for RU486 to be available to women on the Pharmecutical Benefit's Scheme (PBS) which provides government subsidies for essential medicines so that they are more affordable to every day Australians who need them. Australia needs to step up and subsidise this drug deemed essential to women's health by WHO.

Let's support women's health and wellbeing. Support women's access to essential medicines.

What you can do:

Submit a comment to the PBAC:

Click this link, to lodge a consumer comment asking for the PBAC to approve RU486